When it comes to bad weight loss recommendations, dietitians have heard it all from their clients.

Here are the tips they wish you’d stop believing, plus some proven strategies to use instead.

(For a workout designed to incincerate body fat, check out METASHRED EXTREME from Men’s Health—a brand new muscle-building training system that will ignite your metabolism and transform your whole body.)

“Truth is, scientific evidence reveals that diet alone is more effective than exercise alone when it comes to short-term weight loss. And for long-term weight loss, you need a combination of diet, exercise, and other lifestyle behavior changes,” she says.

The big increase in calories you eat on a cheat day will probably be stored as body fat, Fear explains.

“The best way to keep your metabolism up and lose fat is not to down a whole pizza on Sunday, but to eat some carbs every day, strength train several times a week, get enough sleep, and eat within your calorie needs—every day of the week,” she says.

(Use this calculator to figure out how many calories you need to eat every day.)

Shutterstock

5 of 6

Diet and Exercise Are the Only Things You Should Worry About

Sleep, stress, and environment all play a huge role in your weight loss efforts.

“The link between sleep and weight is undeniable: The less we sleep, the more we weigh,” Golem says. “Stress is another factor that needs to be considered, especially if food or alcohol is being used as a calming strategy. Chronic stress not only influences appetite-regulating hormones, but it also affects hormones that regulate the way your body burns calories.”

Research shows that people who keep unhealthy foods like soda or cookies on the kitchen counter can weigh up to 20 pounds more than those who don’t, so take a look at what kinds of foods you’re regularly stocking at home and at work. (And fill your kitchen with these groceries instead.)

“Setting boundaries,” Golem says. “For example, I love desserts, but they’re one of my trigger foods—I have a hard time eating a proper serving size when they are around. So, my boundaries for desserts are that I eat a single portion just once a week—on Friday nights.”

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Men's Health participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.